Method of producing fibrous thread



Patented Aug. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOAQUIN JULIO DE LA 3025., $3., OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BAGASSE PRODUCTS CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD OI PRODUCING FIBROUS THREAD.

No Drawing.

This invention relates to a method of producing fibrous thread, and has for an object to provide for the production of soft, strong, flexible, fibrous threads which can be spun, woven, and otherwise generally worked into textiles, bags, cordage and other analogous articles of commerce, the said fibrous threads being produced from sugar cane and, more particularly, from burned sugar cane.

It is well known that the sugar fields are frequently subjected to fires which destroy a large amount of the crop. The action of the fire ordinarily is to consume all parts of the cane, except the stalk. This latter normally contains approximately seventy-five percent of water so that it will usually resist the flames but, on standing, after the fire, there occurs, in the course of a very few days, a.

chemical inversion of the sucrose contents within the stalk, whereby there is formed dextrose, levulose, etc. This is commonly known as turning, fermenting or souring of the sugar cane, and takes place in from one 2 or two to four or five days, according to weather conditions.

Because of this, it is necessary that the stalks should be cut and treated in the sugar mill almost immediately after the fire, if the usual sugar product is to be obtained, because the soured or turned sucrose juices cannot be treated to produce the crystallized sugar that is the usual product from sugar cane.

It is frequently impossible to cut the burned cane and have it used in the sugar mill within the few days period, so that the fact is that vast quantities of the burned cane are allowed to rot in the fields, or are out and either thrown away or used as an inefficient 4o fertilizer. This constitutes a great economic loss to the planters, frequently involving bankruptcy; and it also occasions a great economic loss, more broadly speaking, because a very abundant source of fibrous thread is thereby Wasted.

I have found that the fibrous portion of the burned sugar cane which is soured or turned, can be employed as a substantial and commercially advantageous source of thread,

and my invention contemplates a method of so treatin the said fibrous part as to produce the three In carrying out my process, I take the Application filed March 22, 1927. Serial No. 177,465.

burned sugar cane which has stood until it has been ruined for purposes of sugar manufacture, and cut it and grind it in a mill in a manner very similar to the grinding of cans for the purpose of producing su ar. I have found that, as a rule, the grin ing of the burned cane in one set of three rollers Wlll be sufiicient; and that it is desirable to arrange the spacing and pressure of the rollers so that no great crushing eifect is appl ed to the cane. This step extracts the uices, while leaving the cellulose portion unin ured for treatment according to my present invention.

The next step is for the purpose of eliminatmg all, or nearly all, of the cementing, inc-rusting and parenchymatous material so as to leave substantially pure, flexible, and strong fibrous threads of cellulose.

In order to remove the said incrusting materials, and the like, they must be rendered soft and more or less soluble so as to be capable of elimination without damaging the fibrous cellulose portion of the cane.

The said materials are associated with or accompanied by a certain amount of the juices which invert or ferment as above set forth, and as this inversion takes place an acid condition develops. If this acidity is allowed to continue, acids such as butyric, acetic, valeric, and lactic will form in quantities injurious to the cellulose. Of these acids, butyric is, perhaps, the most destructive. Such acids will ultimately, together with bacterial growths, destroy the cellulose or, at least, render it practically unfit for the use contemplated by this invention. It is therefore important that the removal of such acids, as will inevitably form, should be carried out as rapidly as is feasibly possible. If such removal of the acids is effected as they form, the elimination of the incrusting or cementing materials will be simplified and facilitated, and the danger of injury to the cellulose will be avoided. On the other hand, the said acids and-bacterial growths have a tendency to disintegrate the incrusting materials and the like so as to render them more readily removable; so that the best procedure is to permit the said acids and bacterial growths to be generated so that they may act upon the incrusting materials and the like, while taking care to remove the acids and bacterial growths before they can injure the cellulose. This is what I mean by removing the acids and bacterial growths as they form.

I have determined that a highly desirable way to remove the said incrusting materials, and the like is by a process of retting and, in carrying this out, I immerse the fibrous cellulose material of the cane, from which most of the juices have been extracted by the rolls, as above mentioned, in slowly running water. The water is preferably open to the atmosphere so that gases may escape as they accumulate, and the temperature employed is preferably that which normally exists in the tropical countriesin the nelghborhood of 30 centrigrade. Immersion in such running water for a period of from a few hours to several days will effect a. quite thorough separation of the fibers from the said incrusting materials, and the like, without in ury to the fibrous structure. I have found, for instance, that such a retting process carried out at a temperature of from 30 to 35 centigrade for a period of from fifty to sixty hours is very satisfactory.

The water employed is preferably substantially neutral. such as ordinary river water, and it is preferable that the water treating the material should run slowly.

After the retting process has been completed, the material should be immersed in a very dilute cold alkali solution, such as cold water rendered alkaline by a small amount of sodium carbonate or hydroxide. A solu tion of ten to twenty grams of sodium hydroxide per liter of water, at ordinary room temperature, is suitable. This step should be continued for a few minutes in order to neutralize any remaining acidity, and the fibers should then preferably be washed well with ordinary water for some time, such as a few hours. The length of this treatment, as well as of the alkali treatment, can readily be determined by a man skilled in the art carrying out the method.

Immediately thereafter the material should be run through corrugated rolls to break up the incrusting substances, and the like, whereupon the fibers can be stripped, scutched, hackled, combed, carded and spun, according to any well known or approved procedures in the production of fibrous threads; after which the resulting threads are adapted for use in the textile arts as previously indicated.

Owing to the fact that acids are engendered in the inversion or fermentation, it is desirable to employ apparatus which is resistant to acid. This is not only for the purpose of prolonging the useful life of the apparatus, but also for preventing metallic particles liberated by the process from injuring the product.

In the foregoing I have referred to the utilization of sugar cane which has been burned, but it will be understood that the method can be carried out in connection with the treatment of uninjured sugar cane or the bagasse by-product from the process of manufacturing sugar.

I desire it to be understood that various changes may be resorted to in the steps followed, and apparatus employed, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; and hence I do not intend to be limited to the details herein set forth except as they may be included in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids and then retting the fibrous part of the cane with running water.

2. A method of producin textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids and then retting the fibrous part of the cane with running substantially neutral water.

3. A method of roducing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids and then rotting the fibrous part of the cane with running water at a temperature of approximately 30 centrigrade.

4. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids and then rotting the fibrous part of the cane with running substantially neutral water at a temperature of approximately 30 centigrade.

5. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as' to initiate the generation of acids, extracting most of the juices from the cane, and retting the fibrous part of the cane with running water.

6. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, extracting most of the juices from the cane, and retting the fibrous part of the cane with running substantially neutral water.

7. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, extracting most of the juices from the cane. and retting the fibrous part of the cane with running water at a temperature of approximately 30 centigrade.

8. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the ste s of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, extracting most of the juices from the cane, and retting the fibrous part of the cane with running substantially neutral water at a temperature of approximately 30 centigrade.

9. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, retting the fibrous part of the cane with running water, and treating the same with a dilute alkaline bath.

10. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, retting the fibrous part of the cane with running substantially neutral water, and treating the same with a dilute alkaline bath.

11. A method of producing textile fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, retting the fibrous part of the cane with running water at a temperature of approximately 30 centigrade, andl treating the same with a dilute alkaline bat 12. A method of producing textile/fibers from sugar cane, which includes the steps of permitting the cane to ferment so as to initiate the generation of acids, retting the fibrous part of the cane with running substantially neutral water at a temperature of approxi:

mately 30 centigrade, and treating the same with a dilute alkaline bath,

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name this 21st day of March, 1927.

JOAQUIN JULIO DE LA ROZA, SR. 

